Chapter 61: New Plan

“…Alright, will this plan give us the best chance of success?”

“Graaaah!”

As I was contemplating a strategy against the wyvern, it seemed to lose patience and charged at me once again.

Quickly, I placed my left hand on the ground.

“I can’t keep taking these attacks. ‘Black Mist’!”

I cast a dark mist to obscure the wyvern’s vision.

“Graah…”

Hearing the wyvern grow quiet for a moment, I used the opportunity to sprint over to where Alisha was hiding.

If my memory served, she should be around here somewhere.

After searching around for a moment, I managed to spot Alisha, who was using ‘Concealment’ to stay hidden.

“There you are, Alisha! I have a new plan—will you listen?”

“Lloyd-sama. Yes, of course.”

Alisha looked surprised at first but then nodded firmly.

I glanced around, hoping to find Lilina nearby as well.

“I’d like to share the plan with Lilina too…”

Both Lilina and Alisha played crucial roles in this strategy.

But finding Lilina, hidden with her ‘Stealth’ skill, was proving difficult.

“You called, Lloyd-sama?”

“Whoa! Lilina, you’re here!”

“Of course I am! I’d never be far from you, Lloyd-sama!”

Lilina puffed out her chest proudly.

Apparently, she’d been close the entire time, and I just hadn’t noticed.

Maybe Lilina had even greater assassin potential than I’d imagined…

I cleared my throat and spoke.

“It’s a relief you’re nearby, Lilina. Let me explain the new plan. I have something specific I need you two to do.”

And with that, I briefed them on our new strategy.

—

“Graaaah!”

Just as we finished coordinating and preparing, the wyvern let out a roar.

In an instant, a strong gust blew away the ‘Black Mist,’ clearing its vision completely.

It met my gaze and once again let sparks of fire escape from its mouth.

“I figured it wouldn’t last long…”

I muttered and aimed my longsword at the wyvern.

*Whoosh, crack!*

Then, arrows shot from behind me and struck the wyvern.

However, these arrows merely bounced off and fell without piercing its scales.

To the wyvern, these were likely just a minor annoyance—not worth any defensive action. Naturally, it would focus on me, the one posing a real threat.

“‘Swift Wind,’ ‘Swift Wind,’ ‘Swift Wind’…”

“‘Sharp Blade,’ ‘Weak Point Detection’… Alisha, aim there.”

Hearing Alisha and Lilina behind me, I couldn’t help but grin.

Even if a surprise attack didn’t work, we could still create an opening by making it underestimate us.

“‘Sniping’!”

*Shoooom!*

This time, Alisha unleashed an arrow with incredible force toward the wyvern.

The wyvern seemed to realize the increased power just before impact, but it could only flinch slightly. The arrow drove deep into its body.

*Thud!*

“Graaaah!!”

Thanks to Lilina’s skills, ‘Weak Point Detection’ and ‘Sharp Blade,’ Alisha’s arrow pierced deeply into the wyvern.

I tightly gripped the single thread hanging oddly from that arrow.

That thread came from the ‘Hard Thread (M)’ skill I’d stolen from the spider-like monster.

“Going full power! ‘Intermediate Magic: Lightning Paralysis’!”

As I channeled magic through the ‘Hard Thread (M),’ the spell traveled down the thread toward the wyvern.

Suddenly, the wyvern’s body jolted violently.

Hitting it from the inside to paralyze it—there was no way to defend against that.

“Graaaah!!”

The wyvern, now paralyzed, lost control of its body and crashed to the ground.

“‘Instant Step (M)’!”

I seized the moment, gripping the ‘Hard Thread (M)’ as I charged forward.

*Thud!!*

The ground shook as the wyvern landed, and I used my skill to teleport directly in front of it.

Using that momentum, I raised my longsword high.

“‘Herculean Strength (M)’!”

*Slaaash!*

“Graaaaah!!”

As I brought my longsword down with full force, blood sprayed from the wyvern’s body.

…Damn, it’s tough.

Even though I’d struck with all my might, I couldn’t slice it in half like other monsters and only left a large cut.

“‘Weak Point Detection,’ ‘Sharp Blade,’ ‘Poison Blade’!”

“Graaaah!”

Nearby, Lilina drove a dagger into the wyvern’s weak spot.

Watching it thrash in pain, I extended my left hand toward it.

With this much damage dealt, maybe my ‘Steal’ would work.

I tightened my stance, focusing power into my left hand.

“‘Steal’!”

“Lloyd-sama! Behind you!”

“Behind?”

Just as Lilina shouted, I felt a powerful blow to my side.

In the next moment, my body was lifted off the ground.

“Ooooooh! ‘Power Thrust’!”

Hearing that familiar voice, I found myself soaring through the air.

As I tried to turn and see what was happening, my left palm ended up facing someone further behind me.

“Well done, Zard! Crush Lloyd while you’re at it, and we’ll take all the credit for ourselves!!”

It was the protagonist of this anime, Kane, laughing loudly at the sight of me being blown away.

With that crude laugh, it seemed he had lost all traces of being the main character.

No, Kane still had something protagonist-like about him.

There was Kane’s unique skill, ‘Support,’ which boosted the abilities of his party members.

As long as he had that, maybe he was still the protagonist of this anime.

“Gah! *Cough*, *cough*!!”

Covered in dust and sprawled on the ground, I glanced at the one who had knocked me flying.

There stood Zard, grinning slyly.

“Damn it, charging at me with that ‘Support’ boost on.”

I glared at Zard, rubbing my side that throbbed with pain.

Is this pain something I can handle?

As I was doubled over from the intensity, a screen suddenly appeared in front of me, displaying my status.

“What? Did that last ‘Steal’ actually succeed…? Huh?”

Right after I’d used ‘Steal,’ I’d been thrown aside, and I was pretty sure my left hand had been facing somewhere else.

Could I really have stolen a skill even in that situation?

While I was wondering about that, the skill that showed up on the status screen was completely unexpected.

“Successful Steal: Skill ‘Support.’”

“What—?”

I couldn’t help but mutter in disbelief at the skill displayed before me.